Whose Favorite?

We thought Noah's new GeoTrax would be Daddy's favorite Christmas present, but it turns out that Mommy is the one addicted to making new track configurations. Noah likes it too, until the trains crash, and then he cries. And if WalMart doesn't stop clearancing the track packs, it's going to take over our living room!

Hellooooooo, anybody there?

Yes, it's been ages since I've posted, and even longer since I've posted regularly. It hasn't been just the normal back-to-school stuff that's been keeping me busier than usual, it's incubating this cute little booger:



Noah's going to be a big brother! We found out the gender today, but before we announce it to the whole wide world, we're going to make you go take a guess in our baby pool. Is the suspense killing you?



Hope your Christmas was wonderful. Ours was, and I promise to post (more) photos soon!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I tweaked the date on this post... it's almost New Year's by now, but it's never too late to wish you a Merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

When the streets started to bustle, we took our little Batman out in the front yard to check out the action.



Noah had a blast running around and watching the other kids, but I don't think he ever realized his little cape was flapping around behind him.



He also enjoyed sorting our Halloween candy. Good thing his little fingers can't get the packages open yet!



By the end of the evening, Noah was running to the door for every trick-or-treater, helping them choose their Hot Wheels and candy, and shutting the door behind them. He had a blast. Oh, and he tried to steal someone's sword.

I think after yesterday he answers to "Batman" better than "Noah." Go figure.

You've been so patient.

The least I can do is share some photos.

Go Longhorns!


Miso Cute


Make yourself at home, Noah.


It's a jungle out there


PlayDoh!

We're still here!

(just finding more things to do with my computer time, now that school is back in session.)

Here's a thought I'll share. Sorry I don't have the photos to back it up. I've got to go dig that camera thing out of it's drawer!

Noah amazes me with his sense of humor. The strangest things make him burst out laughing. Sunday night I was singing him to sleep, and I started the song like you would if you were waiting to come in on a round, singing:
Row, Row, Row your boat,
Row, Row, Row your boat,
Row, Row, Row your boat, gently down the stream.
By the time I got to the third Row, Row, Noah was giggling uncontrollably. He knew that I had "messed up" the song and he thought it was hilarious. Needless to say, that didn't make a very good lullaby. Then yesterday in the backyard, Dave and I started throwing a frisbee back and forth, and Noah thought it was the funniest thing of all time. Especially when it went over the fence! He also giggles like mad if he's about to get what he wants, like cottage cheese from the fridge. Yesterday I got to hear that precious giggle when I picked him up from daycare (unusual because Dave usually does it). He heard my voice as I was climbing the stairs, and started laughing before he could even see me. It's such a joyful sound that it overwhelms me with happiness every time!

Training for the Circus

We start 'em young around here!

Caught on Film!

Oh man, this cracks me up. Especially the last 10 seconds or so. It's short and sweet, and no sound required:



Dave took those sprinkler photos that I posted yesterday, so I didn't get to see this in action till later. In the first part of the video, he's trying to fill the little green eggshell toy with water. Fairly successfully, I might add.

What is he DOING?

Crazy little Noah, drinking from the sprinkler!

He seems to be growing up so fast these days. I'm still in the habit of using the word "baby" around him, but these days every time that word comes out of my mouth, it hits me that he's not much of a baby anymore at all. It's amazing how clearly he thinks and how well he understands... I just still can't understand 99.9% of what he's talking about. Today he brought my shoes to me. I didn't think too much of it because he likes to play with our shoes. But then he went and stood by the back door. Nobody had mentioned going outside, but he knew what he wanted, and he knew mommy needed shoes for that!

He also seems to be growing up fast in more measurable ways. Between two recent doctor's appointments not even a month apart, he grew nearly two full inches. I know teenagers can sprout like that over a summer, but for my little guy... wow! And my arms are swearing up and down that he has put on several pounds in the last couple of days. Tomorrow I should try to weigh and measure him to find out why his clothes keep shrinking and why my elbows are whimpering. I think it might be time to start measuring HEIGHT instead of length, with marks on the wall and everything. How exciting!!!

Hamilton's Pool

We went to Hamilton's Pool this weekend with my sister's family. It's a natural spring-fed pool where an underground river caved in. The trail down from the parking lot is rocky and steep (especially carrying an extra 22 lb tub-o-giggles), but the hike was worth it. We all had a lot of fun and ended up staying longer than we thought Noah would let us. Noah's favorite part was throwing rocks into the water. Here are a couple of photos:

He looks like he's falling in, but he's really throwing rocks:


Those tiny dots on the boulder are Noah's cousins, who swam to the other side of the pool:


We hiked around the grotto (on the left of the photo above). This might have been a good family photo, except for the expression on Noah's face!


The trail around the back side of the pool gets really narrow. The rock right behind Dave is so close to the wall that you have to lean over and walk sideways to get past. That was challenging to get Noah through!


We also hiked down to the nearby river. Here's Noah and Dave watching the little fish swim by: